Green
by Icee Suicune
Summary: 10 drabbles featuring Akihiko and Minako. Drabble 1 - Broken Promises warning: spoilers!


After many long, tiring, and stressful months of planning, the day that had both excited and terrified Akihiko had arrived. A day he never really thought would come, and one that he was thrilled to experience. Today was the day of his and Minako's wedding.

He was surprised he had made it to the venue in the first place. The time leading up to the event was probably one of the most taxing things he had gone through, and he'd rather spend a solid month in Tartarus than have to go through wedding planning again. Having his friends help out with their special day took a good deal of the weight off of his shoulders, and even with all the things that Minako insisted on taking care of, he still felt overwhelmed with the workload.

All the blood, sweat, and tears that were invested had been well worth it, though, proving to be so when he and Mitsuru arrived at the hotel early that morning. She had pulled some strings and snagged one of the fanciest hotels in Japan to serve them. Akihiko had tried his hardest to protest, insisting that it was just a bit too much, but he knew Mitsuru, and she wouldn't have any of it.

"Consider it my wedding gift to you two," she smiled as they approached the massive building. The staff welcomed them and escorted them to the hall where the wedding would take place. The decorations were lavish, the flowers were plentiful, and Fuuka waved at them as she fiddled with the cords to some lights.

"Minako's going to cry when she sees all of this," Akihiko ran his hand over a nearby tablecloth, one of many identical ones that filled the room. "How many people did she invite, anyway?"

"Well, she always has been a popular girl." Mitsuru chuckled. "I hope everything will be to her liking."

"I'm sure it will be," Akihiko said. Decorating had been the part she was most excited for, and it seemed that she had spent the most time planning and crying over it. Everything was blue and white, just like she wanted. Things were simple yet no less beautiful, just like she wanted. Everything was exactly what she wanted. Akihiko noticed the smell of steak coming from somewhere nearby, and he smiled. The food was exactly what _he _wanted, which was more than enough for him.

Mitsuru motioned for Fuuka to come over, and she turned to Akihiko. "Alright, I think it's about time that we readied ourselves for tonight. We ought to check up on how Minako's doing, too. You should check your suit, make sure you don't need any last minute repairs." Mitsuru patted him on the shoulder. Once Fuuka finished up and joined them, the two women were off, leaving Akihiko alone in the huge event hall.

"Hey, there's the man!" a familiar voice filled the room, and Akihiko turned to see Junpei, already dressed up in his suit. He nearly skipped over to the older man and threw his arm over his shoulders. "Man, are you excited or what?"

"Almost as excited as you are, I'd wager." Akihiko smirked. "Why are you dressed up so soon?"

"Oh, this?" Junpei tugged at his coat. "It's not every day you can wear somethin' this fancy, ya know? Plus Yuka-tan didn't think I could stand wearing it for the ceremony, let alone an entire day, so I of course I gotta prove her wrong!"

"Just don't spill anything on it, got it?" Akihiko said. "Speaking of suits, I gotta go get mine. Can I trust you alone here?"

"Hey, have some faith in me!" Junpei slid his arm off of Akihiko and slapped his back. "Oh, and don't get any wise ideas on peekin' on Minako before tonight! It's bad luck, ya know. Yuka-tan wanted me to remind you!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure Mitsuru would execute me before I got close." Akihiko waved Junpei goodbye and hurried out of the room. It was beautiful, there was no denying that, but it was all just too fancy for him. If he had it his way, he would have had something simple, something traditional, with little fuss. But Minako had wanted a grand event for a grand occasion, and as long as she was happy, he was too. He took a deep breath when was out in the open hallway, and he sighed.

Everything that his friends had done for them... everyone had pitched in somehow. Mitsuru, Fuuka, and Minako had covered the venue. Yukari had all of the outfits the like planned, and Shinji insisted on helping with the menu. Even Junpei had 'helped' by throwing a bachelor party. Everyone was there for them, and just knowing that made Akihiko emotional. He felt like he couldn't thank them enough for their actions, especially Minako.

She did get a bit out of hand with the preparations, but he assumed that was a phase every bride went through. She was pushy and snappy and very tense towards the end, but without her, none of this would be happening in the first place. He smiled when he thought back to their high school days, their explorations in Tartarus, the time they spent together as friends and as a couple... She had been there for him at his best and his worst, and he vowed he'd provide the same support for her when her time came. The wedding probably counted as something in between the two.

Akihiko glanced down at his watch. In seven short hours, he'd be standing up at the front of the room, watching Minako walk down the aisle. He knew that once he saw her, everything else would be irrelevant, and all the stress of the past few months would disappear.

-.-.-

Akihiko was nervous.

Actually, nervous didn't give his feelings justice. He was _terrified._ Not necessarily in a bad way, but he was still scared out of his mind. He thought he was prepared when he was planning, but actually living the moment was much more different than he could have ever imagined.

He glanced to Shinji, standing at his side. He gave him a comforting nod, and Junpei flashed a thumbs up from his place slightly behind them. The girls on his other side also shot him comforting looks, and even Aigis could sense he was uneasy from one of the chairs in the audience and smiled up at him.

Akihiko took a few deep breaths and tried to calm his nerves, but he knew it wouldn't do much good. He knew that he'd still be worked up, even when Minako -

Music started playing, the doors at the back of the hall opened, and the crowd all rose from their seats. He heard a few gasps, but those and the music and everything else seemed so small, so quiet, so unimportant when his eyes found Minako. She looked so tiny at the end of the aisle, with her hair done up and her hands clutching a bouquet and her dress flowing outward from her delicate body. She walked down the aisle alone, and her journey to the altar seemed to last years and passed by in a few seconds all at once. When she finally made it to the end, she turned to face Akihiko and stared up at him with those beautiful brown eyes that glittered in the bright light. Her smile was so wide that it almost engulfed her face, and she giggled a bit when he found himself smiling back. His breath caught in his throat as he reached to lift her veil with shaky hands.

The ceremony went by in a blur. Akihiko couldn't do much else than stare at Minako. He always thought she was pretty; when she was in her every day attire, when she just woke up, when she was all grimy from a long night fighting shadows, she still had that aura of natural beauty about her. Today, though, she was simply breathtaking. Her hair was in delicate curls, swept away from her face. Her dress hugged her body in all the right places, and a shiny necklace hung from her neck. Honestly, she could have been wearing pajamas and he still would have stared at her the same way. He still couldn't process that this was actually happening. That she had said yes to being his girlfriend all those years ago, that she had said yes when he proposed to her, and that she was actually standing before him, waiting for him to take her as she would take him.

At one point she grabbed his hand, gently running her thumb over his knuckles. The action snapped him back into reality just in time for him to hear the officiant say those words, those few words that would make the entire ceremony official. The words that would bind them, making them husband and wife. "You may now kiss the bride."

He gently tilted her chin up and leaned down just enough to meet her lips with his own. He closed his eyes just before they met, her smile and tear filled eyes the last things he saw.

When he opened them again, there was nothing but black. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the dim light created by a sliver of moonlight that peeked through his window. He rolled onto his back, blinking up at the ceiling above him. With a sigh, he sat up, his arm reaching for the space next to him in bed.

Nothing.

He shouldn't have expected to find anything there. No one shared the bed with him, after all. He hadn't had anyone's company when he slept in many years, not since Minako spent her first night with him. Not since his high school days, not since their fight with Nyx, not since Minako...

Akihiko ran a hand through his damp hair, noting that he woke up in a sweat again. It always seemed to accompany that dream of his. That reoccurring dream that just became more vivid as the years passed, not duller like he desperately wished it would. The one that became more frequent than he wanted, and that plagued his thoughts in the daylight hours in ways that made him want to cast off sleep forever. The one that forced him to run 'what if' scenarios through his head – what if he was stronger, what if he could have done something more, what if he could have stopped her, what if he could have done _anything_ to make that silly promise of his a reality instead of a nightmare that haunted him even to that day.

His hands formed fists and pulled at the silver strands of hair on his head. It didn't matter now how much he dwelled on it. He wasn't strong enough. He failed her, and he was paying the price. It didn't matter how much he trained now, and it never would. He promised himself that he wouldn't lose the people he loved ever again. He promised to protect them, he promised to protect her, and he failed.

He gave a weak attempt to choke back his sobs, but the cries slipped out regardless. He lashed out and hit his nightstand, his other hand balling up the sheets that were tangled around his body. What kind of man couldn't protect the one thing that meant more than anything else in the world?

Akihiko continued to cry until nothing else was left. He was silent for a long while after, his body still shaking slightly as he tried to regain himself. He slid back under the covers and buried his face into the pillows. He felt empty, as he usually did after the dream. The empty feeling became more frequent, appearing even when he hadn't had the dream in weeks. He _was _empty, after all. Losing Minako was like losing a part of himself, the better part of himself.

He closed his eyes and attempted to sleep again. Maybe one day he'd be able to fill the void inside himself. Maybe he'd have the dream again, giving him a temporary feeling of relief.

He knew that losing people was never easy. No one, though, had told him it was so much worse the second time around.

-.-.-

_**AN: **_

_**It's been a while since I've written for p3! So have my otp doing what it does best: aka ripping my heart out. **_

_**This is the first prompt for the Green set in the 7 rainbow prompts, and each color gets a different pairing. Akihiko/Minako gets green! I promise that the other ones will be much happier than this haha... **_

_**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Reviews and critiques are welcome! **_

_**Icee Suicune **_


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